dBMcast #116: Beautiful World
Mixed by Kaya Rainface, November 2012 (320 kbps)
Music by The Polish Ambassador * Stephan Jacobs * Gladkill * Emancipator * Sugarpill * Michael Meneirt * SBTRKT * Paper Diamond * Russ Liquid * Andreilien * JoBOT * Bassnectar.
"Its a beautiful world we're livin' in…"
With this simple phrase repeated over and over like a mantra on the title track from Stephan Jacob's new album, DJ Kaya Rainface heard the possibility of a new mix celebrating the ephemeral glory of being alive on Planet Earth here at the end of the Mayan calendar.
"What happens after 12/21/12? Nobody knows! Will our world look different the next morning? Or will the changes all take place inside of us?" Rainface mused in a recent conversation over steamy oolong tea. "Whatever goes down, 12/21/12 gives provides all of us a centering of attention, a cosmic quickening, and a chance to refocus our intention. I felt the call to create a mix that celebrated how fortunate we all are to be here, in this place, at this time. Beautiful world for sure!"
Elements that hold this musical journey together include 1.) heavy participation from the Headtron crew in California, including Sugarpill, Gladkill, Andreilien, Stephan Jacobs, Russ Liquid and JoBOT, 2.) an exploration of tracks that use the human voice in interesting ways: looping, mutating, glitching out, bending and folding and chopping singers' voices until they are barely recognizable as human, becoming instruments instead, disembodied androids offering fractured vespers, and 3.) an interconnected mosaic of midtempo tracks that marry intergalactic space travel, melodic beauty and deep, nutrient-rich bass whompage.
The Beautiful World Choir includes voices from Sade, Jay-Z, Yukimi Nagano, Linval Thompson and the glorious wispy vocals of Thao Nguyen on Emancipator's track "When I Go," which is presented here in a mashup of the original with the Michael Menert remix.
"The Headtron tribe is putting out some of the most interesting bass music happening today. They are way out there on the leading edge of electronic music, creating pretty, emotional music that also slays you with bass" Rainface mused, "I love how they are each distinct artists yet sharing a common aesthetic in making music. Putting them together in a mix made it really easy for me to keep the flow moving forward. It developed very organically. The mix knew what it wanted to be and I just helped facilitate its manifestation!"
